Centerpiece; Germany, 20th century

Centerpiece; Germany, 20th century
Glazed and gilded porcelain
Measurements: 72 x 48 x 23 cm.

Centerpiece or fruit bowl made of glazed and partially gilded porcelain, possibly made in Dresden in the second half of the 20th century. The upper bowl, with a semispherical profile, is decorated with a central bouquet of roses and flowers, and with two large gilded bows in relief from which garlands hang. This bowl rests on a central vase decorated with handles featuring plant motifs and applied garlands, flanked by two female figures in the round, dressed in gilded tunics and depicted in a musical pose, likely representing muses or allegories of the arts. The ensemble rests on a gongola-style base, with the bow and stern topped by small gilded volutes, which in turn rests on an oval pedestal.

Both the profusion of flowers in relief and the preference for allegorical figures decorating this piece are directly reminiscent of the repertoire created by the Meissen manufactory, founded in 1710 following Johann Friedrich Böttger’s discovery of the formula for hard-paste porcelain and which, during the 18th century, became the leading European authority in the field. Building on its prestige, and taking advantage of the region’s geographical proximity and ceramic tradition, various manufacturers and decorative workshops emerged throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in Saxony itself, especially in Dresden, which reproduced and freely interpreted Meissen models and motifs without being affiliated with the original manufactory, giving rise to a body of work that varied greatly in quality but enjoyed great commercial success—a category within which this piece could be classified.